Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 infection in a captive Seba’s short tailed-fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) colony in Switzerland

Abstract

Background Between February and April 2016, a slight increase in mortality was observed in a colony consisting of 400 captive Seba’s short-tailed bats (Carollia perspicillata). These animals cohabited with other nocturnal animal species in a dome of a private zoo in Switzerland. Results Gross and histological analysis of two (14.3%) out of the 13 animals submitted for necropsy within this period revealed a necrosuppurative pneumonia, hepatitis, splenitis, enterocolitis, and endometritis, with abundant intralesional colonies of Gram-negative rods. Yersinia (Y.) pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 and biotype 1 belonging to the sequence type ST90 was isolated from the affected organs in both animals. Following this diagnosis, ¼ of the colony (99 animals) was culled and submitted for gross and histopathological analysis, and a bacterial culture selective for Yersinia spp. of lung, liver, and spleen was performed. From these 99 animals, one gravid female was tested and found to be positive for Y. pseudotuberculosis in the absence of clinical symptoms and histopathological lesions. PCR analysis of altogether three bacterial isolates for virulence factors revealed the presence of the ail gene, and one isolate was also positive for the virF and yadA plasmid genes. Conclusions These findings suggest that Carollia perspicillata are susceptible to lethal yersiniosis but do not represent a regular reservoir for Y. pseudotuberculosis. Culling of ¼ of the population was sufficient to limit the spread of this infection among the colony. Moreover, no infections were detected in cohabitant nocturnal animals and caretakers, indicating that the zoonotic risk in this case was low.

Gut Microbiota Composition of Insectivorous Synanthropic and Fructivorous Zoo Bats: A Direct Metagenomic Comparison

“…Samples from C. perspicillata were obtained from the Moscow Zoo. The natural habitat of this bat species is Central America, South America, and the Antilles Islands, and it is one of the most common bat species in zoos [29,30]. C. perspicillata bats were included in our study as the reference for the comparison with the gut microbiota of synanthropic bats, as the microbiota of this bat species was studied before [31,32].…”

Trends in Bacterial Pathogens of Bats: Global Distribution and Knowledge Gaps

“…However, our knowledge on the scale of disease outbreaks and mortality by enteropathogens is scarce in nature, there is some evidence that they may cause mass mortality in bats, such as in the case of Yersinia enterocolitica [133]. Furthermore, Y. pseudotuberculosis may cause (mass) mortality in captive bats [132,138,139]. Generally, enteric Yersinia species are frequently detected in wild-caught bats and are suspected to be pathogenic to them based on histopathologic evidence [22,134,140].…”

An overview of bats microbiota and its implication in transmissible diseases

“…They are widely present in the environment and are important zoonotic agents widespread in several animals. Both Yersinia species were isolated from bats ( Table 1 ; Muhldorfer et al, 2010 ; Imnadze et al, 2020 ; Hahn et al, 2021 ). Yersinia enterocolitica was detected in the small intestine and spleen of dead bats ( Muhldorfer et al, 2010 ; Imnadze et al, 2020 ).…”

“…It is possible that the bacterium was the cause of death in animals, although this has not been yet elucidated ( Imnadze et al, 2020 ). Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was detected in several organs, including lung, liver, and spleen ( Muhldorfer et al, 2010 ; Hahn et al, 2021 ). Although the role of wild animals as reservoir hosts for Yersinia sp.…”

“…Although the role of wild animals as reservoir hosts for Yersinia sp. is well known, in bats it has to be better clarified ( Muhldorfer et al, 2010 ; Imnadze et al, 2020 ; Hahn et al, 2021 ).…”